For the next two weeks, I will take a break from “business speak” and take you with me on my travels.  First stop is Hangzhou, the famous city that Marco Polo visited during the late 13th century.  Marco Polo was so enchanted with Hangzhou that he proclaimed it to be the “most beautiful and magnificent city in the whole world.”  Below is a painting of the place by a French artist circa 1412.  This is of course, an European imagined Hangzhou based on Marco Polo’s writings and description.

an ancient European painting of the lagoon city of Hangzhou circa 1412

According to Marco Polo, Hangzhou is -“without doubt the finest and most splendid city the world… there are said to be 13,000 bridges, mostly of stone… vast are the numbers of those accustomed to dainty living, to the point of eating fish and meat at one meal.”

Hangzhou in the 13th century, was the capital of the Soong Dynasty, (1127-1279), and the world’s most prosperous city.  152 years of peace and prosperity during the Soong Dynasty resulted in a wealth of poetry, calligraphy and painting from the era.    So here I am, reading Marco Polo’s journal and visiting Hangzhou.

I took this photo of a boat on West Lake.  Boats of all types sail on the West Lake.  Most of the boats are still of the ancient types.  Large ones ferry passengers from three points of the lake.  There are also several paddle boats for hire.    On West Lake, Marco Pole wrote: “On one side it skirts the city… and commands a distant view of all its grandeur and loveliness, its temples, monasteries, and gardens with their towering trees, running down to the water’s edge. On the lake itself is the endless procession of barges thronged with pleasure-seekers… their minds and thoughts are intent upon nothing but bodily pleasures and the delights of society.”

Any photographs taken of the famous West Lake of Hangzhou at any angle is simply postcard pretty.   There is so much history behind West Lake such that I will have to tackle this another day.  Below is an aerial photograph of modern Hangzhou and you can see that there is plenty of greenery for such a populous city in China.  A great park within a modern city.

Filed under: My Travels